Australia yesterday welcomed its inaugural “First Bloke,” beer-drinking hairdresser Tim Mathieson, who has been catapulted into the public eye through his relationship with new Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard.
Mathieson featured prominently in media coverage of Gillard’s astonishing unseating of tearful former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd after he joined the new prime minister for her swearing-in ceremony in Canberra.
“A proud day for our First Bloke,” headlined Sydney’s Daily Telegraph, with a picture of Mathieson offering Gillard a congratulatory peck.
PHOTO: AFP
“He is a hairstylist by profession, loves a beer with the same mates he has had since he was 15 and specializes in baking Julia Gillard’s favorite Friday night dinner, lamb roasts,” the Telegraph said.
Mathieson, a four-year partner of Australia’s first woman, and first unmarried, prime minister, suddenly became one of Google Australia’s top searches on Thursday, along with “julia gillard partner,” “is julia gillard married” and “julia gillard boyfriend.”
National news agency AAP tracked down former colleague Grace Romanin, manager of Melbourne’s Heading Out salon where Mathieson’s love for Gillard blossomed under the heat lamps.
“That’s how they met, in here,” she said. “He was a very bubbly guy. He did styling — cutting and blow-drying. I’m just so glad that she chose someone outside of politics. He’s such a great guy and I know he will make her very happy.”
Mathieson, who has since switched careers to real estate, admitted “great surprise” at Gillard’s rapid rise to office, just a day after she had been Rudd’s deputy, with no succession in sight.
“She will absolutely be a fantastic prime minister,” he told Melbourne’s Herald Sun. “She has the right mindset and she is very consultative. I am so proud to be her partner and to be able to support her today.”
Last week’s Sunday Telegraph reported that Mathieson has a child from a teen relationship and was once involved in a drinking and driving incident.
“We just use the terminology: ‘That’s Tim,’” his car-dealer brother was quoted as saying. “We don’t see him much, but he’s got a fairly busy life now. He’s always been flamboyant. He’s always been out there.”
Mathieson also plays an important role in a key issue that dominates Australian public life: Gillard’s hair.
Days before her shock rise to power, the then-deputy PM’s auburn locks appeared several shades darker as a deep, presidential red, a possible clue to the events that were to follow.
Mathieson said he was often up before dawn preparing Gillard’s hair for her early engagements.
“That’s my forte, the famous 5:30am blow wave,” he told the Telegraph. “Sometimes it’s 4:30. I’ve learned to blow wave with one eye open or even in my sleep.”
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